City
Epaper

US concerned over alleged detention of Pak activist's father

By IANS | Updated: October 25, 2019 14:55 IST

US Assistant Secretary of State Alice G. Wells on Friday expressed concerns over "reports of the continued harassment" of Pakistani rights activist Gulalai Ismail's family and her father's alleged detention.

Open in App

"We encourage Pakistan to uphold citizens' rights to peaceful assembly, expression, and due process," Dawn news quoted Wells, who is also the in-charge of South Asia affairs at the State Department, as saying in a Twitter post.

On Thursday, Ismail alleged that her father had been picked up from outside the Peshawar High Court.

In a tweet on Friday, Ismail said she had received information that her father had been brought to the court premises.

"He is in bad shape, seems untested, unwell and hypertensed," she added.

Earlier, the activist had criticised the silence of the mainstream Pakistani media following her father's alleged abduction.

"I've run out of words to condemn the criminal silence of media; it has become an ally of (the) military in imposing unannounced martial law," she added.

In September, a New York Times report said that Ismail had escaped Pakistani authorities the previous month and had reached the US, where she applied for political asylum.

She had not disclosed how she managed to leave the country, but she revealed to the newspaper that "I didn't fly out of any airport".

In November 2018, the Islamabad High Court was informed that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had recommended putting Ismail's name on the Exit Control List (ECL) for her alleged anti-state activities abroad, Dawn reported.

Following a petition by Ismail challenging the government's decision to put her name on the ECL, the Islamabad High Court had ordered the removal of her name from the list.

According to the New York Times report, Ismail had remained a fugitive since May.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: IsmailPeshawar High CourtpakistanNew York Times
Open in App

Related Stories

NationalIslamabad Car Blast: At Least 12 Killed After Vehicle Explodes in G-11 Sector of Pakistan

NationalNational Security Tightened as Pakistani Terror Cells Plan Strikes on Delhi and Other Sensitive Locations

CricketHong Kong Sixes 2025 Final: Pakistan Crowned Champions; Defeat Kuwait by 43 Runs

CricketHong Kong Sixes 2025 Final: Pakistan to Face Kuwait In Summit Clash Today at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground

CricketSA vs PAK LIVE Cricket Streaming: When and Where to Watch South Africa vs Pakistan Hong Kong Sixes 2025 2nd Quarter Final Match

International Realted Stories

InternationalUN says Israel shot at its peacekeepers in Lebanon

InternationalJapanese Envoy relishes Biryani in Telangana, calls it 'truly addictive'

InternationalUK announces drastic reduction in protection for asylum seekers, refugees under new plan

InternationalEarthquake of magnitude 4.4 strikes Xinjiang

InternationalSigning MoU with British Museum to bring Vrindavani Vastra back to home under a loaning arrangement: Assam CM